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Last season's Champions League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur have secured their place in the European competition's knock-out stages by beating Olympiakos in Jose Mourinho's first home match in charge of the club on Tuesday night.
Goals from Youssef El-Arabi and Ruben Semedo gave the Greek visitors a deserved lead after a scintillating display in the first half. However, a lucky added-time goal from Dele Alli emerged as the much-needed wake-up call for the hosts, who put on a much-improved performance after the break.
A goal from Serge Aurier and a brace from Harry Kane saw Mourinho's men overcome an even-bigger deficit than their opponents did in their first group encounter this season to guarantee their place in the knockout stages with a 4-2 win.
The victory means that the Premier League giants finish second in Group B despite a shaky start to the campaign that saw them lose 7-2 at home to group leaders Bayern Munich, and squander a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 away to Olympiakos.
Spurs did, however, pick up the pace with a 5-0 home win over Red Star Belgrade and a 4-0 away victory over the Serbian side in the last two group matches.
Without further ado, here are three talking points from the game:
#1 Jose Mourinho's UCL debut in charge of Spurs was as dramatic and as entertaining as the man himself
Jose Mourinho made a melodramatic introduction at his new home in north London as he oversaw a spectacular comeback against Olympiakos at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 56-year-old made a troubling start as he took his seat in the technical area of Spurs' new and improved stadium on Tuesday night. Familiar problems- defensive instability and stray passes- saw the hosts concede two goals within the first twenty minutes, something that has never happened under Mourinho's watch since February 2002, when he was in charge of Porto in a game against Real Madrid.
The Portuguese tactician was initially befuddled by Pedro Martins' dynamic set-up, but made up for his costly line-up mistakes by wasting no time in making bold substitutions.
After falling two goals down within twenty minutes of game-time, Mourinho made the big call to remove Eric Dier and replace him with Christian Eriksen in an effort to enhance creativity and open up Olympiakos' astute defence. In Eriksen, the former Manchester United manager found a man who could comfortably play in the spaces between the wide players and the centre-backs, a decision that clearly bore fruit as the Dutch playmaker set up Aurier for Spurs' third goal of the night.
With his spectacular home debut, the Special One has managed to overturn what could have been an anti-climax to his return to management and steered the limelight, instead, to his personal record as a winner, having never failed to reach the knockout rounds of the elite European competition in his career.
#2 Olympiakos made their mark in a massively entertaining game
Despite squandering a two-goal lead, Olympiakos proved to be worthy Champions League competitors who made an equal contribution to the riveting game that fans will take home tonight.
The Greek giants have more or less replicated their impressive form from their previous draw with Tottenham Hotspur in Athens back in October, taking a deserved lead courtesy of Youssef El Arabi in the sixth minute. The Caen-born striker picked up the ball deep inside the Spurs half before curling a long-range left-footed effort into the bottom left-hand corner.
The Super League 1 outfit then quickly doubled their lead courtesy of a 19th-minute effort from Ruben Semedo, who took advantage of the hosts' pathetic defending by making a clinical finish from a dead ball that came from a set-piece routine.
Olympiakos' worthy display in the initial forty-five minutes was a product of Pedro Martins' fascinating and potent tactical approach. From a back five evolution when in defence to an ever-changing midfield, the Portuguese manager made sure his men were dynamic in their movements across the pitch in a bid to block any kind of space for their opponents.
Unfortunately, the magic of the first-half soon faded for the visitors as Tottenham made their way onto the pitch with a renewed determination and an attacking force that possessed all the tools to convert their hunger into goals.
#3 More negatives than positives for Spurs
Tottenham's victory may have ensured an automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League, but it mostly just exposed the flaws that plagued their squad before Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed from his managerial position this month.
The North Londoners have paid dearly for their defensive errors this campaign, and appeared to be on the brink of another fine when they conceded two goals to Olympiakos to become the team with most conceded goals in the Champions League since last season.
Olympiakos duo Giorgos Masouras and Daniel Podence were a constant source of danger as they used their pace to surprise and threaten Spurs' already-fragile defence on the other end. Hugo Lloris' replacement, Paulo Gazzaniga, also failed to establish a crucial line of communication with his defenders, causing even more problems for themselves at the back.
Mourinho's new side have only managed to keep four clean sheets in all competitions this season, and the Special One has a Herculean task ahead of him if he is to eradicate the squad of their present crisis.
The controversial Portuguese might just have to look through his immense experience in defence-centric approaches to address one of the many problems he knew he had to solve when he succeeded Pochettino.
